The 6-million acre Adirondack Forest Preserve was established with support from private landowners and businesses in the area that were concer
ned about the effects that deforestation would have upon local water supplies.

The President also honored the thousands of volunteers who dedicate time every year to advancing environmental conservation efforts across
the country. During his visit, the President worked on a trail maintenance project on the Ausable River Trail with the Adirondack Council, th
e Association for the Protection of the Adirondacks and AmeriCorps members working with the Student Conservation Association. Individual acti
on plays an essential role in environmental conservation.

More than 200,000 volunteers work on Department of Interior lands each year  three volunteers for every Department of Interior emplo
yee  and thousands more contribute to other federal, state, local, tribal, and private conservation efforts.

More than 19,000 Senior Corps volunteers work on 2,600 environmental projects each year  dedicating an average of 1 million hours an
nually to environmental activities. And, this year, more than 6,000 AmeriCorps members are working on 150 national and local environmental projects.